Appeal No. 2002-0500 Page 18
Application No. 09/258,320
Barry, Teaching A Way Is Not Teaching Away, 79 J. Pat. & Trademark Off. Soc'y 867,
872 (1997).
Here, combining Suzuki's arrangement of an elastic body and a flared sleeve
with AAPA and Takahashi would necessitate removal of the latter's boss. Because the
boss supports "[t]he base portion of the rotating shaft 56" of Takahashi, col. 5, ll. 16-17,
replacement thereof by Suzuki's elastic body would render Takahashi's invention
inoperable. We are unpersuaded that such a combination would have been obvious.
Therefore, we reverse the obviousness rejection of claim 8.
Claims 16, 17, 34, 35, 38, and 39
The appellants argue claims 16, 17, and 38 together. (Appeal Br. at 11.) Rather
than arguing the patentability of claims 34, 35, and 39, they assert, "[c]laims . . . 34, 35
and 39 patentably distinguish over the various prior art references discussed above for
the same reasons as have been previously noted." (Id.) Therefore, claims 17, 34, 35,
38, and 39 stand or fall with representative claim 16.
With this representation in mind, we address the point of contention between the
examiner and the appellants. The examiner finds, "Mitsuyasu teaches a fan with a step
section overlaid by the housing 18. Mitsuyama [sic] shows the outer diameter of the
Page: Previous 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007